Poems from the Divan of Hafiz, by Getrude Lowthian Bell, [1897], at sacred-texts.com

XIV

Stanza 1.Hafiz wrote this poem upon the death of his son.

Stanza 3.Rosenzweig, in his edition of the Divan, says that the allusion is to the dust and water which God kneaded into the body of Adam, and that, out of derision, Hafiz; calls the human body a house of joy.

The moon, according to Persian superstition, has a baneful influence upon human life.

Stanza 4.Rosenzweig says that "I had not castled" means that Hafiz; had not taken the precaution of marrying his son, and so securing for himself grandchildren who would have been a consolation to him on their father's death. For that reason he had nothing more to lose, and was indifferent as to what his next move in the game should be.